Math Is Easy...Getting To Class Is Hard

Zach had an audition recently that, in theory, was at a great time, The audition was scheduled for noon at a casting studio in Los Angeles. It was the perfect time in-between two college classes. Plus, they had an open audition window until 2:30pm so Zach didn't have to be there right at noon. One class ended at 12:10pm and the other class started at 1:40pm

Like I said, this was a good audition time in theory. It still worried me a little bit because the distance between the two locations was 12 miles. He would also have to take care of all these steps in that 90-minute window:

• Walk to the parking lot nowhere near his class after the first class ended
• Drive to the audition
• Find a parking space in an area where there is only street parking 
• Do the audition
• Drive back to college
• Find another parking space nowhere near his class
• Walk to class from the distant parking lot
• Be in the classroom at 1:40pm

The 8 steps listed above offered way too many chances for something to go wrong. The three of us discussed a plan of action and decided the best solution was me driving him to the audition. He would drive himself to school that morning and I would pick him up at 12:10pm and start the race to the audition.

I left for Glendale around 11:30am to give myself plenty of time in traffic. I arrived at 11:50am and proceeded to completely fail at getting him some lunch. The first fast food place I drove to was out of business and the second place had a line all the way out to the street. I pulled into a gas station and got him a bag of potato chips and a drink so he would have some sort of snack on the way. (Dad of the Year material)

I knew exactly where the casting office was located but wasn't sure about the best way to get there from Glendale. I don't know where Google Maps thinks I am in America but it informed me that we would arrive at our destination in 13 hours. I didn't have time to determine the problem so I decided to get the Waze app. My phone then let me know that service was not available at that moment. I finally pulled out my old school Garmin GPS and entered the address. It gave me one route that seemed way too complicated so I restarted my phone and was able to get service as well as Waze.

We headed off down the 2 to Glendale Blvd and then Waze helped us beat traffic with a scenic tour of some neighborhoods, a dog park, skateboarders, a photo shoot, a guy dressed as Ben Franklin and what I can only assume was a demonstration on how to cook meth in public. We eventually hit the 101 to Santa Monica Blvd to our destination. We arrived at 12:40pm which gave us plenty of time for the audition and the drive back to school.

I sat outside and did some work on my computer while waiting on him. The minutes were ticking by as actors that arrived after us entered and left the building before Zach came back outside. Was he having a great audition or were the casting people having him read the lines over and over again until they were happy with it?

While he did end up having a good audition, it took so long because the camera broke and the casting folks had to find a new one before they could record his audition. Our time that we had to spare on the drive back to Glendale had vanished. We were now going to arrive 15 minutes late to class. We jumped into the truck and made our way past Hollywood Blvd, the Ford Theatre and Forest Lawn Cemetery (final resting place of Bette Davis, John Wooden, Morey Amsterdam, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Walker and many others). I quickly switched lanes way too many times in a vehicle that size in Los Angeles traffic, honked at cars and generally drove like an idiot but I made it to the 134 and the last leg of the trip to school. 

We arrived at the college at 1:38pm. I pulled up to the drop-off lane and kicked Zach out of the truck. The class started at 1:40pm and he made it only a few minutes late instead of the 15 predicted by Waze. I can't say I'm proud of my behavior behind the wheel that day but nobody got hurt and I beat the clock to get him there on time.

While I certainly hope he gets the part thanks to his acting ability, there should be extra credit with the casting director for our successful trip to and from the audition!

We're waiting to hear about the audition and his math test results as well.

How Not To Relax During Summer Vacation

It's been a busy week with a variety of auditions for the teen actor. The auditions have been all over the road in terms of the characters he's had the chance to read for in the last 7-10 days. The roles have included:

*A bratty high school student forced to be part of the school play thanks to getting in trouble at school

*A kid named "Diego" that I discussed here

*An alien from the future who is 4-feet tall and trapped in the body of a teenager

*A kid who wants to have a pet cow in his city dwelling

*An action hero destined to save our world once he is no longer grounded by his parents

*The owner of a gem that a group of international thieves is looking to steal

*A boy who thinks he is a dog trapped in the body of a human

Whether or not he gets any of these parts, the audition process is giving him plenty of material for his stand-up gigs. There are times I'll ask him how an audition went and he will just smile and tell me to wait for his next stand-up gig.

Speaking of which...Rare in-blog plug time! Zach is doing stand-up in July at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. He's opening for Felicia Michaels on Friday June 1st during the 7:30pm show in the YooHoo Room. Want half-price tickets? Get them while you still can here. He'll play the main room at Flappers for the first time on Monday July 25th at 8pm as part of "Make Em Laugh Monday". While I'm linking and plugging things, here is his Flappers talent bio if you want to book the kid and also his IMDB page containing some new photos of Zach at recent showbiz and charity events.

It's definitely a busy summer vacation for the teen actor/stand-up comedian. I think he is enjoying not having to learn the wonders of Economics 101 while also having to write fresh material for upcoming shows. I can help him with Economics and I can sometimes be a test audience for his stand-up material. However, I am completely lost when he needs help with his math homework!

Using Social Media To Promote Your Career

There are a variety of social media outlets available to actors today to help them promote their careers. From Facebook to Instagram to YouTube, social media is a vital part of the daily lives of people around the world. Are you choosing the right social media platforms to promote your career?

I do social media for a variety of clients ranging from cosmetic surgery to spices to crowdfunding to insurance quotes. All of these industries need specialized content for each social media outlet. Actors are some of the most creative people on the planet yet they feel using the same content across the board is perfectly acceptable.

It's not.

The social media sites listed below are ones I use on a daily basis. How can you use them to help your career?

• Facebook - The obvious choice for any actor when it comes to promoting their work and career. Used by billions of people, Facebook is an excellent way to build a community of fans you can interact with on a daily basis on a fan page.  It's also an excellent way to control your image without anyone seeing your personal posts that would be bested saved for a private FB account.
• YouTube - Are you a singer, stand-up comedian, actor or acting coach? If so, do you have a YouTube channel? If the answer is "no" then my question to you is "why not???" You can talk about your skills and talents all you want on your other social media pages but a YouTube channel is one of the best ways to share your skills with the public and reach a mass audience. It's also a great showcase of your talents that you can direct agents and managers and casting people to check out online.
• Twitter - I love Twitter because it teaches you how to get your message across in 140 characters or less. Creating compelling copy while still making a complete statement in a limited amount of space is not an easy skill to master. Learning to get your message across on Twitter can also help you be more focused and in the moment during auditions and meetings.
• Quora - Even though Quora is basically a giant online Q&A session, it can still help you further your career. Search for the people you admire and/or want to work with in the future and follow them on Quora. Engaging with them on a regular basis can put you on their radar but you do need to exercise caution and not be a part of every discussion they are involved with on Quora. There's a difference between being helpful and friendly and coming across as a stalker. I use Quora a lot for a hair restoration specialist I work with in Beverly Hills. Anyone that looks at my interactions on Quora will get the impression that I am completely obsessed with my hairline as well as hair restoration techniques and news.
• Google Plus - It seems like even Google doesn't care about Google Plus anymore but it is still there for you to share some links to your work or IMDb page. It will take some effort on your part to find the best G+ communities to place your links and videos in so don't expect to just make a post and see instant interaction I mainly use G+ as exposure for this blog. 
• Instagram - Even with their new (and awful) logo, Instagram is a great tool when it comes to marketing your carer. Since IG is a visual platform, it's vital to post a photo or video that is visually appealing to others. Post a photo from the set of your latest project or the costume from a play you're working on or even the script you're currently writing. Reaching eyeballs beyond your followers is pretty easy on Instagram by following a few simple tips:

1. You get one link on IG (in your profile) so make sure it points to the site you want others to view
2. Use hashtags to help others find you. Just remember that too many hashtags makes you look desperate to connect. Simply using your name as a hashtag might not gain you much attention. Using general hashtags such as #acting or #actorslife will connect you to others since they are phrases that are searched for on a regular basis.
3. When you gain new followers, share their photos when appropriate. Casting directors and other industry people appreciate having their content shared. However, don't share everything they post or you'll come off as desperate to be noticed.
4. Respond to all comments on your photos. The 30-seconds you take to respond helps build relationships.
5. Be creative with your photos and videos while sharing some of them exclusively on IG There's no reason for people to follow you on multiple sites if they can simply find the same content on FB and Twitter as they do on IG.

• Reddit - Exercise caution if you want to promote yourself on Reddit. Many people that post pitches about their work or links to their own videos get ripped apart in the comments section or simply have their link booted from a subreddit as being inappropriate or not fitting the rules of the subreddit. Make sure that your post is unique and out of the ordinary in order to make it through the crowd on Reddit.
• Vine - This social media platform used to be one of the main outlets to find new talent on the Internet. The looping video platform showcases creativity and the ability to show your talent to the world in easy to digest six-second bites. However, a good number of ad buyers have turned away from the app which has caused many "Viners" to follow the ad money and marketing sponsorship dollars to Snapchat, FB and IG. This has also led to a decreased amount of content that is "Vine exclusive" as more Vine users are now sharing their content on other platforms. Many platforms realized the viability of updating their video content and were able to catch up to Vine when it failed to make any changes and stayed with its 6-second format. I rarely use Vine for business just because of the decreased amount of eyeballs that see the content.  New talent can certainly be found on Vine but there is less marketing money and individual deals being pumped into the app so there are less breakout Vine stars than in the recent past.
• Snapchat - The platform that I am finding great success with when it comes to posting videos. Even though the maximum length of a Snapchat video is only 10-seconds, a series of 10-second videos can run one after the other to create a story. You can have people follow your story on Snapchat to create a narrative that connects the 10-second videos. Share your music, make a short film or do stand-up comedy as your story. I normally keep my client video stories to 3-minutes or less in order to keep fatigue from setting in from too many 10-second videos in a row.
• Periscope - The good news is that the live streaming video aspect of Periscope allows you to show your talents in a live broadcast setting. However, Periscope  requires people to add you on the app so it takes a performer with good worth of mouth or an amazingly dedicated fanbase to make a dent in terms of getting attention from others in the industry.

Now that you know the tools you have at your disposal, make use of them and promote yourself and your career in creative ways. Nobody is more invested in your career than you so be your own biggest fan and make social media work for you.

This actor is getting ready to start his own YouTube channel.

Why Do You Need An Acting Coach?

One of the first steps to success as an actor is finding the right acting coach for you. Finding an acting coach that you trust and feel comfortable with can lead to a lifelong relationship. I've met many acting coaches who still do sessions with well-known actors because those actors who have achieved success still count on the direction and feedback of their coaches to help them with auditions and scenes in jobs they've already booked.

An acting coach does much more than simply recite lines and say "good" or "bad" to their acting clients. Here are some of the reasons every actor can benefit from having an acting coach:

• An acting coach who spends any amount of time with their clients will begin to learn their strengths and weaknesses. Once the coach is tuned into the skills of the actor, he or she can help the actor fine-tune their skills by working on areas that are lacking while making sure their strengths are kept in fine shape.
• Acting coaches help actors absorb the material to the point that it becomes second nature and natural. Strong character choices come from the actor feeling confident about the material they are performing.
• One of the best skills an acting coach can possess is making the actor feel at ease. Actors that trust their coach are more comfortable being open and vulnerable in front of an audience as small as one person and as large as the crowd for a Broadway play. Inspiring confidence and getting rid of any nerves before an audition or show are some of the best skills possessed by an acting coach.
• Acting coaches will go over every aspect of a scene. There is more to a scene that the lines spoken by the actors. What's the motivation of the character? What kind of clothing does the character wear? Is there specific body language that the character would project? What is the relationship of the character to others in the scene? What is the location of the scene and does that have an impact on the way the scene should be played?
• A good acting coach focuses on the individual actor and does not simply lump them in with a larger group. Even if there are actors working together in a scene, the coach is paying attention to each person and assessing their performance. There is rarely a "you guys did this or that" summary after a scene is over. The coach addresses each actor personally and gives detailed notes about the individual performances. 
• Are you feeling like you need some new audition material? Have you outgrown your "go to scene" or feel like it needs some freshening? Your acting coach can help determine if your standard audition scene can be revived with a few tweaks or if you need some new material that plays to your acting strengths. Once you have the correct material, the coach will help find "spaces in the scene" that showcase your skills.

The best acting coaches are the folks that used to be actors or are still working actors. They know the daily challenges and anxieties faced by those trying to make a living as a working actor. Isn't it better to have someone on your side who understands what you are trying to accomplish with your life? They also understand that acting is about individual choices and don't try and impose their idea of line readings on you. They might suggest a certain character outlook but they leave the final decision up to the actor. The coach is there to encourage and aid the journey of finding the essence of the character. Sometimes the best choices are the natural choices made by the actor. A good acting coach helps the scene play as "real" and not come across as forced and unnatural.

Unfortunately, you often get what you pay for when it comes to acting coaches. Be sure and do proper research before spending the money on acting classes and a specific coach. Choosing the wrong coach not only hurts your growth as an actor but it can also damage your bank account since you won't be getting a good return on your investment.

This actor has been blessed with some very good acting coaches during his career.